NCAA Tournament: Sunday Morning Roundup and Sunday Viewing Guide

Another exciting day of the NCAA tournament came and went yesterday, and two teams have already punched their tickets to the Frozen Four.

North Dakota won an overtime thriller over Ferris State to win the Midwest Regional and advance to Philadelphia, while Union was the first team to advance to the Frozen Four with a 3-1 afternoon win over Providence.

In other action yesterday, Boston College trounced Denver 6-2, Minnesota eventually prevailed over Robert Morris 7-3, UMass-Lowell beat a tough Minnesota state team 2-1, and St. Cloud State scored an overtime goal to cool off sizzling Notre Dame 4-3.

Conference Records through two days:

Atlantic Hockey: 0-1, (RMU loss to Minnesota)
Big Ten: 1-1 (North Dakota over Wisconsin, Minnesota over RMU), one game today (Minnesota vs St. Cloud State)
ECAC: 2-2 (Union over Vermont, Providence over Quinnipiac, Ferris State over Colgate, Union over Providence)
Hockey East: 3-3 (Providence over Quinnipiac, Union over Vermont, Providence loss to Union, BC over Denver, Lowell over Minnesota State, Notre Dame loss to St. Cloud State), one game today (BC vs Lowell)
NCHC: 3-1 (North Dakota over Vermont, North Dakota over Ferris State, Denver loss to BC, St. Cloud State over Notre Dame), one game today (St. Cloud State vs Minnesota)
WCHA: 1-2 (Ferris State over Colgate, Ferris State loss to North Dakota, Minnesota State loss to Lowell)

I did a little better yesterday in my predictions, going 4-2 to push my record to 5-5 so far. Only two games left in the regionals to predict today, and here they are. As usual, all times Central:

4:00 PM - Northeast Regional Final: (2) Boston College vs (7) UMass-Lowell, TV: ESPNU, Stream: WatchESPN - A game of two different styles. Boston College brings the nation's highest scoring offense to bear against All-World goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and UMass-Lowell's nation leading defense. Prior to last night's rout of Denver I might have picked Lowell in a tight one, but I think BC's high-octane offense will just be too much for the RiverHawks to handle. The winner of this one goes on to play Union in the Frozen Four. Prediction: BC wins 4-2


6:30 PM- West Regional Final: (1) Minnesota vs (9) St. Cloud State, TV: ESPNU, Stream: WatchESPN - Minnesota certainly didn't play their best in a 7-3 win over Robert Morris, but they did well enough to win. More importantly for a team that struggled scoring goals, they got on the scoresheet - a lot. St. Cloud State prevailed over Notre Dame in overtime, and although SCSU is a good team I think they're a good match-up for the Gophers - SCSU likes to play an uptempo offensive style that Minnesota will be more than willing to follow. When the two teams met earlier this year, the Gophers came away 4-1 victors. The winner of this game will face North Dakota in the National Semifinals. Prediction: Minnesota wins 5-3

NCAA Tournament: Saturday Morning Roundup and Saturday Viewing Guide

The NCAA Tournament always deals out its fair share of surprises, and the first day of the 2014 Tournament was no different.

Wisconsin, many people's favorite to win the whole thing, is out.  They fell to #4 seed North Dakota 4-2 in the first round.

Quinnipiac, the #6 overall seed, lost to #11 Providence by a resounding 4-0 score.

Ferris State scraped by a hard-charging Colgate team 1-0.

Union held on to beat the pesky Vermont Catamounts 5-2.

Conference Records so far:

Atlantic Hockey: 0-0, one game today (RMU vs Minnesota)
Big Ten: 0-1 (North Dakota over Wisconsin), one game today (Minnesota vs RMU)
ECAC: 1-2 (Union over Vermont, Providence over Quinnipiac, Ferris State over Colgate), one game today (Union vs Providence)
Hockey East: 1-1 (Providence over Quinnipiac, Union over Vermont), four games today (Providence vs Union, BC vs Denver, Lowell vs Minnesota State, Notre Dame vs St. Cloud State)
NCHC: 1-0 (North Dakota over Vermont), three games today (North Dakota vs Ferris State, Denver vs BC, St. Cloud State vs Notre Dame)
WCHA: 1-0 (Ferris State over Colgate), two games today (Ferris State vs North Dakota, Minnesota State vs Lowell)

I, of course, only got one game right in my predictions.  That goes to show just how unpredictable this tournament is.  Or, of course, it could show how bad I am at making predictions.  I'll leave that one up to you :)

So, that being said, here's what we're looking forward to watching today.  Again, all times Central:

2:00 PM - East Regional Final: (3) Union vs (11) Providence, TV: ESPN2, Stream: WatchESPN - This will be an interesting game.  Providence methodically took apart a good Quinnipiac squad yesterday, getting strong play from sophomore goaltender Jon Gillies.  Although I am high on Union, I like the way Providence played yesterday, so I'll pick the upset here.  Prediction: Providence wins 3-2

3:00 PM- Northeast Regional Semifinal: (2) Boston College vs (15) Denver, TV: ESPNU, Stream: WatchESPN - Another game that should be interesting.  Denver has been hot lately, and although they had to win their conference tournament to get into the dance they're never a team to sleep on.  I think BC has too much for Denver to handle though.  If you're watching this game, look for Johnny Gaudreau - he'll more than likely be this year's Hobey Baker winner.  Prediction: BC wins 5-2

4:30 PM - West Regional Semifinal: (1) Minnesota vs (16) Robert Morris, TV: ESPN2, Stream: WatchESPN - Here is where we see if the Gophers have grown or not from their disappointing performances in recent playoff history.  Minnesota lost to a not-great Yale team in the first round last year (that got hot at the right time and ended up winning it all), and lost just last week to an okay Ohio State squad in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.  They'll play a Robert Morris team that is ranked #44 in the PairWise currently, but has only lost five games since the calendar switched over to January.  This team went 2-12-2 in their first 14 games, but finished the year 17-5-3 in their last 25.  The Gophers, on the other hand, are 13-4-4 over that same time frame.  Minnesota plays a much tougher schedule and should have enough talent to win this game handily, but I think Robert Morris might pose a bit more of a challenge than most Gopher fans will expect.  Prediction: Minnesota wins 4-2

5:30 PM - Midwest Regional Final: (5) Ferris State vs (13) North Dakota, TV: ESPNU, Stream: WatchESPN - Another interesting matchup.  North Dakota took out Wisconsin, my favorite to advance to the championship game, 5-2 last night, while Ferris survived a tight 1-0 thriller with Colgate.  Does this North Dakota squad have it in them to win three must-win games in a row?  They've shown me that they're a better team than I believed they were this season already, but I just don't think they have the gas to beat a good Ferris State team this afternoon.  Prediction: Ferris State wins 3-1

6:30 PM - Northeast Regional Semifinal: (7) UMass-Lowell vs (10) Minnesota State, TV: ESPNU (Tape Delayed until 10:30 PM), Stream: ESPN3 - Let me start by saying that I am really high on both of these teams.  Minnesota State has been one of the hotter teams in the country in the second half of the season, recovering from a shaky 4-7-0 start to the year by going undefeated in their last 13 games coming into the Tournament (12-0-1 over that stretch).  Their last loss was all the way back on January 31st.  Lowell, the preseason #1 overall, followed somewhat a similar path, starting out 1-3-0 in their first four games before righting the ship, finishing the season on a 10-3-2 jaunt and winning the Hockey East Tournament.  In the end, I think UML will be too much for Minnesota State to handle, and they'll ride a strong performance from goaltender Connor Hellebuyck into the regional final.  Prediction: Lowell wins 3-2

8:00 PM - West Regional Semifinal: (8) Notre Dame vs (9) St. Cloud State, TV: ESPNU, Stream: WatchESPN - Another very interesting game pitting two good teams against each other.  This one will also feature a clash of different styles, as SCSU's up-and-down offense matches up against Notre Dame's defensive system.  I think that this game is a toss up; Notre Dame had an average regular season but has heated up recently, beating Boston College in three out of four at the end of the year before falling to Lowell in the semifinal of the Hockey East Tournament.  St. Cloud State lost in the first round series of the NCHC tournament to a bad Miami team, but was good throughout the rest of the year, dropping only eight games before entering the playoffs.  St. Cloud was in line for a high seed prior to the playoffs, but the losses to Miami dropped them all the way back to a #3 band seed.  I think St. Cloud is a better team than Notre Dame so I'm going to pick them winning, but it's awfully close here.  One big save or one soft goal could make the difference in this one.  Prediction: St. Cloud State wins 4-3

Viewing Guide for the NCAA Tournament: Friday, March 28th

The NCAA Hockey Tournament starts TODAY!

Although the Gophers don't play until Saturday afternoon, there are four games throughout the day today.  Four teams will move one win away from the Frozen Four, and four teams will end their seasons short of the ultimate prize.

Here is where and when you can catch those games.  All times Central.

1:00 PM - (3) Union vs (13) Vermont, TV: ESPNU, Stream: WatchESPN - Union is one of the hottest teams coming into the tournament, while Vermont lost in the first round of their conference tournament and squeaked into the 16-team field as the second-to-last At Large team in.  Prediction: 4-1 Union.

3:30 PM - (5) Ferris State vs (12) Colgate, TV: ESPNU (Tape Delayed until 9:30 PM), Stream: ESPN3 - Ferris State has been a good team all year, rising to #2 in the nation at one point before settling in with the #5 overall seed in the tournament.  The Bulldogs' year-long resume definitely impresses, but they did lose two out of three to Colgate when the two teams played earlier in the year.  Both teams made it to the final game of their respective conference tournaments before losing in the championship game (Colgate to Union, Ferris State to Minnesota State).  Colgate has been hotter of late, and I think the ECAC is better this year than they have been in years past.  I like the upset in this game.  Prediction: 3-2 Colgate, in OT

4:30 PM - (6) Quinnipiac vs (11) Providence, TV: ESPNU, Stream: WatchESPN - I haven't seen either of these teams play all year, but as I mentioned earlier I think the ECAC is pretty strong this year, and Quinnipiac has some impressive wins on their resume, including a sweep of a strong UMass-Lowell team early in the season.  The Bobcats haven't been as strong lately, going 3-5-1 in their last 10 games, but I would attribute that to the strength of the ECAC more than anything else.  Providence also has some solid wins on their schedule and has been hot of late, winning six of their last seven contests.  I like Quinnipiac in this game though, setting up an all-ECAC regional final between Union and Quinnipiac.  Prediction: 4-2 Quinnipiac

7:30 PM - (4) Wisconsin vs (14) North Dakota, TV: ESPNU, Stream: WatchESPN - If Vermont squeaked into the Tournament, North Dakota REALLY squeaked in with the last At Large bid.  The team-with-no-name won the 3rd place game of the NCHC and had to wait on both UMass-Lowell to beat New Hampshire and Wisconsin to beat Ohio State on the last day of the season.  Wisconsin's overtime, comeback win over Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament got North Dakota in, so it's fitting that the two teams would meet in the first round.  North Dakota has been up-and-down all season long, but Wisconsin has been pretty consistent, especially lately, leaning on a strong senior class and a great defensive scheme.  I think Wisconsin is one of the "teams to beat" in this year's Tournament, and they'll have no problem dispatching North Dakota tonight.  Prediction: 4-1 Wisconsin